A Child, a Child, Shivers in the Cold
by Sociopathic-Kitsune
Summary: An injured little girl named Kagome is found by Hikaru and brought inside of the clubroom. Kyoya patches her up and Tamaki declares her the second Host Club's princess! But this little girl is hiding a large bundle of things from the hosts, and slowly- as she lets the story unravel- the Hosts find themselves knowing more than they wanted.
1. Chapter 1

"Scars are terrible," Kyoya sighs, his fingers brushing his hair out of his eyes while his other hand keeps the needle steady. A final _snip_ and the work is done.

The little girl in front of him shrugs. The little girl that Hikaru had brought in in a huff, panicked and demanding that Kyoya fix it, fix it I don't know what happened!

...What a mystery this little girl was.

"Better than it taking my arm off," she mutters, and Kyoya tilts his head slightly.

What a mystery.

"So what, exactly, was it that could have caused this injury?" He hums, and pretends that he does not see the little girl's spine straighten in a way that little girls should not know how.

Like a soldier's.

"I'll be out of your hair in no time," she promises, and he glances at her face, just stealing a quick look, to see the flighty expression in her big blue eyes.

"That's not what I asked," Kyoya presses, mildly alarmed at how she's starts to squirm now, instead of when the needle entered her skin. Used to pain, he guesses, and narrows his eyes at the conclusion. "Who are you?"

"I'm Kagome," her face breaks into a grin, pleased she can at least answer this question.

"Do you have a last name?" Kyoya asks, humming as he checks the suture work. Can't stand being sloppy. He pauses, however, when the little girl doesn't answer, and after a beat of silence, resumes his task once more. "A family name, perhaps?"

"Do I need one?" she asks, genuinely confused.

"Well, no, but, where is your family?"

"Oh. Then I am just Kagome," she beams, ignoring the last bit of his question.

"Can you answer as to why you were outside of our school, bleeding? You worried some of my classmates."

Kagome tilts her head, blinking, before looking around the room in surprise. "This is a school?" she breathes, "This is what school is like?"

Oh.

And it all becomes very clear to Kyoya, then, what their situation is.

Orphan.

Abruptly he stands, startling the girl into standing position as well, and she follows him to the door, peeks out behind him as he calls for someone to bring him something to drink and eat.

"Oh," Kagome says, blinking, "is it your lunch time?"

"No," he answers, looking down at her, noting her size and wondering if she had been wearing the same shirt and jeans for weeks. The shirt was getting too dirty, and the pants reached about an inch above the ankles. He types a message into his phone just in time for Tamaki to pop into the room with a plate of small sandwiches. "Ah, thank you, Tamaki."

"Kyoya?" Tamaki places the platter down on the small infirmary's table, wincing at the blood splatters and stitching supplies.

"Yes?"

"Why did you kidnap a small child?"

Kyoya starts at the question. "Hikaru found her outside, bleeding. He brought her in, went to get cleaned up with Kaoru, and I patched her up."

"I'm Kagome!" she pitches in helpfully.

"You can eat those, by the way," Kyoya says, gesturing lightly towards the food. The little girl beams and promptly crams a sandwich in her mouth, crumbs all over her face. She has good enough manners to swallow and then say her thanks, but still, her manners (in the demon host's opinion) are atrocious. He looks over at his blonde friend, unsurprised to see adoration written across his dumb puppy face.

"You can just stay here or with one of us!" The idiot blurts out.

Kagome stops eating just in time to say, "Oh, I can't do that! I'm needed elsewhere for just a few weeks."

"Where?" Kyoya asks, ignoring the idiotic ball of disappointment in his stomach.

"Secret," she rubs the back of her head, awkwardly. "If I tell you now, it'll mess up some stuff."

Mess up some stuff?

The two teens meet eyes and lock away the odd phrase for later.

"Well, you'll have to meet everyone else, but you can come in here anytime you like during school and club hours," Tamaki says, firm and soft in a way that only he could manage.

Kagome seems upset for some reason, blinking tears away from her eyelashes, but her face still holds a tiny, content smile. "Thank you," she murmurs quietly.

Suddenly, the silence is too stiff to breathe in, so Tamaki excuses himself to round up the 'rest of the gang'.

"You guys are in a gang?" The little girl asks, "Can I be in the gang?"

"No to both. Let's get you cleaned up."

He reaches for her hand and gently guide her over to the sink, where Kyoya then gathers a small bundle of towels and soap. Kagome hesitantly reaches over to the nozzle, and Kyoya helpfully places the stopper in the large bowl. "Cold or hot water?" he asks, and to his surprise the little girl lights up.

"Hot water," she says eagerly. Kyoya sets it to warm, and puts the bar of soap in, a lightly scented lily, with the flower inside.

"Oh, that's beautiful," Kagome marvels momentarily, before plunging her arms in the sink.

He turns off the tap and lets her do the work; curious as to why she was so excited.

Kagome sighs happily, before rubbing her arms clean of filth, careful of her left, the one with stitches. He can see her true skin tone- a healthy shade of peach, dark from sunlight. She finishes with her arms and moves onto her face, her neck, and though she looks much better from when he first laid eyes on her (that was when she was bleeding profusely from the arm), her clothes still make her look dirty, tattered. Well, nothing he could do there.

"Come on," he says, lips quirking up into a small smile, "let's go introduce you."

And Kagome beams back, because she knows that even that small grin is more precious than one would think.


	2. Chapter 2

"Kyoya-sempai, what is going on? I have to be at my government class in a half h-..." Haruhi looks very confused and a bit annoyed at the delay, but trails off her complaint as said teen steps into the room, holding a little girl's hand. In the complete silence of the club room, Kyoya clears his throat and begins,

"This is Kagome. She'll be checking in and out of club and class time randomly. She has a semi-permanent residence here now. Questions?"

"..our..." Haruhi croaks out the last bit of her tirade.

The twins blink, then hold up a bag between them, chanting, "Is that why you wanted us to bring this?"

"Ah, yes. Kagome, can you go get your new clothes?" The raven haired boy let go of her hand and watches in amusement as she creeps around him and darts to the twins. She looks up at them, cautiously asking for permission. Hikaru tilts the bag towards her, and Kaoru takes the hint. Carefully, keeping an eye on the double red heads, she reaches into the bag and takes out: a thick leather jacket, a white tee, a white tanktop, and sturdy pair of jeans.

"Oh," she says, surprised at how practical the outfit is. "Thank you. Thank you so much." And it's genuine, everyone can tell, but Kagome's words come out stilted and rough with emotion.

Kaoru clears his throat, and Kagome blinks and any sign of tears is gone. "There's more, you know." Hikaru tilts the bag again, and she sneaks her hand inside the bag and pulls out the softest fabric she's ever touched and it's a nightgown, like one in a story, and-

"This is mine?" Kagome asks, holds it against her skinny frame and swings side to side, marveling at how the fabric moves with her. "This is mine?"

And suddenly everyone- Hunny, Mori, (who had been quietly watching from afar) everyone- softens.

Hikaru kneels down in front of her, and she stops, curious as to why such a tall boy would talk to her. "Yeah," he says quietly, smile making the left corner of his mouth quirk up, "it makes you look like a princess. Why don't you go try it on?"

The beaming smile he receives makes him suck in a breath- it's the same smile that Kaoru gives him whenever he's proud and he needs more of that smile in his life-

"Thank you!" Kagome wraps her tiny arms around him and hugs, barely managing to link her fingers around Hikaru's torso. To his disappointment, she lets go just as fast, and now she's hugging Kaoru, and Kaoru is feeling the same thing, and they know. They know that this little girl is precious-

"Introduction time!" Tamaki claps his hands, a nearly crazed smile on his lips from how happy he is. "I'm Tamaki, but you can call me King!"

"Sempai, she's a little girl."

"King!" Kagome shouts out suddenly, clapping her hands. Tamaki reddens, then picks her up and twirls, laughing.

Mori plucks her out of Tamaki's arms, then glances down at her. "Mori," he says quietly, pointing to himself.

"Mori," she repeats back, eyes big as she takes in the size of his build. "Mori's tall." Tamaki wails in the background.

Mori smiles, just a small little twitch, and then Mitsukini pops out from behind his shoulder. "I'm Hunny!"

Kagome faces him then, studies both cousins, then grins and points to the pink stuffed bunny and asks, "Hunny-Bunny?"

"Bun-bun!" Hunny explains, and he steps back to let someone else introduce themselves.

"I'm Haruhi. I'm studying-"

"Law, blah blah blah! This is Haruhi, our pauper!" Tamaki blurts in, "She's super smart and knows all about commoners! Also she helps me with my English homework." Haruhi stands there, looking very bored, while Tamaki affectionately dabbles about her qualities.

Kagome just stares up in awe, her eyes wide with admiration. Pointing at Haruhi, she asks, "Princess?"

"Should we have let her know Haruhi was a girl?" Mori leans over to Kyoya, muttering discreetly.

"She knows to keep quiet," Kyoya answers, writing down things to be ordered for their new guest.

"If you're sure."

"You're doubting me now?"

"..."

"Yes! Two princesses! Fantastic idea, Kaoru!" Tamaki somehow has aquired the small child in his arms, her giggling and peering down at the floor, seemingly heady from the sudden height difference. Kaoru rubs his neck bashfully, scowling at his brother, who knocks hips with him to let his amusement shown.

"Um..." Kagome tugs on Tamaki's school jacket. "King? Can I go put this on?"

"Of course, princess!"

"The changing room is this way," Kyoya guides her to the rooms, holding her hand again.

Haruhi turns to the group, a small, almost fond smile in place. Then she frowns, "Sempai, who's going to stay with her? As much as I like her, I still have that test in Gov. next period..."

"Well, Kaoru's free period is next and so is mine," Hikaru says, dropping the pretenses of the 'who's who?' game.

"So we can watch over her," Kaoru agrees, linking arms with his brother.

"Easily," they say firmly, Cheshire grins on their faces.

"I'm glad you're getting along with everyone else," Kyoya says outside of the dressing room, his eyes closed.

A rustling of fabric and then, "Oh, yes! You're all so nice, I like you all."

The rustling stops, and Kyoya opens one eye. "Kagome?"

"I'm... I'm finished." Kagome pops out her head, looking extremely nervous. "Kyoya?"

"Yes?" Kyoya holds out a hand.

"I think I'm too ugly for this dress," she says, but takes his hand anyways.

Kyoya startles at such a statement, at why such a tiny girl would already have self esteem issues. He opens his mouth, and then shuts it. Didn't his sister have these problems? No, she was much too outgoing, too happy... "You're beautiful," he says finally, his voice leaving no room for arguments.

"Oh. Okay," Kagome whispers, aware, now, that they are in the main club room once more.

Kagome is suddenly lifted up into Tamaki's arms and onto his hip, facing the rest of the group. "May I present to you all, Princess Kagome!" A smattering of applause has Kagome hiding her bright red face in the blonde's chest, and so he gently guides her gaze to the club. "Ah, ah, ah! The Princess must always face the crowd!" Slowly, she meets her eyes to everyone, then smiles widely, before stuffing her face back into the blue jacket. More applause, Hunny being excessively loud and Haruhi's laughter clashing with Kaoru's whistling, and oh, it's so lovely here, so safe.


	3. Chapter 3

Kagome waves goodbye to everyone while situated on Hikaru's hip. "Good luck in government class Haruhi!"

"I'll need it-"

"She says thank you," Kyoya supplies, giving one last glance to her stitches before departing.

"So, Kagome," begins Kaoru,

"What do you want to do?" Hikaru finishes.

"Um... I can just go draw in the corner if you want," Kagome says, "I don't really want to be a bother."

"Well, we could do our homework," Kaoru sighs.

"Or we could design you a princess dress," Hikaru bargains, because one: they really don't want to do that homework and two: Kagome needs to look her part as club princess.

Kagome blinks, looking hopeful but reserved. "Shouldn't you do your homework?"

"Well, yeah, but..." Hikaru glances over at the small pile of papers,

"We're bored and mostly done," Kaoru tries, and they can see her faltering.

"Well... okay." Kagome fidgets.

"Well, starting off, what are your favorite colors?" Kaoru takes her from his brother and bounces her on his hip, too.

"I like blue and silver," Kagome says quietly, smiling.

"Blue and silver!" crows Hikaru, eager for a new challenge. He dashes around the room, looking in the supply room for their fabric box.

She clasps her hands around Kaoru's neck and looks down at her nightgown, swaying so it swirls around her legs. "I like being a princess," she admits quietly, "but I don't know if that's good or not. Aren't princesses supposed to be kind and humble and pretty?"

"Well, aren't you all of these things?" Kaoru asks, the two watching Hikaru bustling about, allowing them privacy.

"I don't think so," Kagome murmured sadly, appearing extremely distressed. "I'm just Kagome."

The red head smiles warmly at her, and says, "And that's more than enough qualification for being a princess."

"Are you sure?"

"Sure about what?" Hikaru asks, having finished threading and setting up the sewing machine.

"That I'm a princess or not," Kagome says, wriggling her way out of Kaoru's arms and landing on her feet.

"Absolutely a princess," Hikaru and Kaoru agree immediantly, grabbing the sketchbook from it's place underneath the sewing machine. Hikaru pats the open seat between them, "Come, sit."

"Okay, Hikaru," and Kagome hesitantly sits down, missing the surprised looks on each twin's face.

"O-okay," Kaoru stuttered, pointing to the book of small, delicate drawings, "point out your favorites and we'll see what happens!"

In the end, Kagome picks out a design, but adds elements she likes from the other dresses.  
The sketch Kaoru finishes turns out as a silky blue dress with silver accessories, the sleeves slightly poofy and flexible while the high waistline is secured with a silver ribbon, tied in an elegant bow in the back. The bottom of the dress is supposed to be very "WHOOSHY", as Kagome describes it enthusiastically, making motions with her hands dramatically.  
Viewing the finished project, Hikaru began sewing the fabric pieces Kaoru was cutting out.

"This is probably the most fun project we've had all year," Kaoru smiles, measuring Kagome's waistline.

"Really?" Kagome asks, pleased, "I thought it would be a big problem. I don't want to annoy you..."

"No, Kaoru's right," Hikaru says, careful to not let the pins drop from his closed mouth, "High school classes can be super stressful, especially your majors." He places a pin to keep the ribbon secured, and another to mark where the bow would be tied.

"But this is actually really fun," Kaoru goes on, "especially if it makes you happy, Kagome."

Kagome doesn't answer for a few minutes, so they glance up from the dummy to see her thinking very hard. "I... I can bake," Kagome murmurs uncertainly, "a lady took me into her shop one day and showed me how." she smiles, "then she let me keep the little cake I made! I gave it to Sou-" Kagome freezes, looking up at the twins with careful, wide eyes. "To a friend. I gave it to a friend."

"Kagome?" Hikaru asks, "are you okay?"

"I just gave it to a friend," Kagome says quietly.

The twins meet eyes, dual concerned looks, before nodding. "Okay, Kagome," Kaoru says quietly, "okay."

"So, do you want frills on the collar?" Hikaru asks, just a bit too loudly, and Kagome nods distractedly.

She doesn't say much for a while.


	4. Chapter 4

The next time Kagome opens her mouth to say a word, she is interrupted by her stomach, growling loudly. She laughs it off, blushing a bit, "Sorry, sorry."

"It's fine. About time to eat breakfast for us, anyways. What do you want to eat?" Hikaru asks, securing on more fold of clothing with the last pin in his mouth.

"Um..." Kagome stutters, looking at Kaoru for assistance, "I... I don't know?"

Kaoru decided to limit their options to simple things. "Do you want soup, or something solid?"

"S-Soup!" _Soup was easier to make than something solid, right?_

"What kind of vegetables do you like?" Hikaru picks up on what his brother is trying to do.

"P-potatoes, and carrots, a-and maybe some herbs?" Kagome seems to be panicking, her breathing speeds up and she seems unsure of herself.

"Okay," Kaoru says, holding out his hand, "can you help me make it?"

The two frown when she brightens, looking happy that they allow her to work for food. Eagerly, she grabs his hand and stands up. "Of course!"

Hikaru rushes ahead to the kitchen, eager to get some food in him.

"You really do have everything in here," Kagome says, in awe.

"Eh," Kaoru shrugs. He feels uncomfortable whenever Kagome is awed at things that have been daily occurrences for his entire life. "So, Kagome, how old are you?"

"I'm... I'm nine?" It is said as a question, "I don't really try to keep track..."

"Do you know when your birthday is?" he asks, puzzling questions starting to disperse to let the answer prevail.

"Uh...mmm..." Kagome shifts, pushing the door of the kitchen and holding it for the tall redhead. "No," she murmurs. He leaves it as that.

"Come on, let's go help Hikaru. He's useless in the kitchen."

"Hey."

"Love ya brother."

"Hmph," Hikaru pouts, but lets it go.

And after the breakfast is done and in the process of being eaten, Kagome kicks her feet, the pleasing taste of stew on her lips.

"You cook really well for your age," Hikaru sighs, content with his empty bowl.

"Yeah," agrees Kaoru, yawning.

"Kaede showed me! I can cook lots!" Kagome blurts out excitedly.

"Kaede?" They ask, looking at each other in alarm.

"Oh." Kagome seems to rethink the words she said, "nothing."

"Kagome," Kaoru sighs, rubbing his eyes tiredly, "I understand you want privacy, but you have to tell us some things."

"Please," adds Hikaru.

They expect her to pout, to shake her head angrily, face turning red from unspoken words. They expect stomping feet and screaming.

The Hitachiin twins don't expect the terror-filled eyes, the paling face and her lips to quiver.

"I can't." The words, instantaneous, startle all three of them with how frightened they sound. "Please- I- I can't."

"Kagome," Hikaru says, serious tone with matching expression, "Is someone threatening you?" Kaoru flinches at the accusation, suddenly connecting one or two fragments together.

She's afraid for us.

"NO!" Kagome shouts, standing up, "_Nothing_ is wrong. Nothing!"

"Okay, Kagome," Kaoru says, "okay." He reaches out to touch her arm, and she rips the appendage away, turning to face him with a fearful gaze. Upon seeing Kaoru's hurt look, she stops, makes herself pause the trembles forcing their way through her tiny frame. Her breathing calms down from the pants, and she bursts into hysterical tears, rubbing her eyes. "I'm sorry, I just can't tell you. I can't tell you anything and it's not fair, I'm sorry-" Kaoru brought her into his arms, trying to calm the child in his grasp.

"It's fine, Kagome. It's fine," Hikaru says. "We're sorry for upsetting you."

Kagome only cries harder, because she's being so _unfair_ to these kind people.

"I'm sorry."


	5. Chapter 5

"We have class next period, homeroom with Haruhi, so- who has no class next?" Kaoru turns to his brother.

"Um... Hunny and Mori, I think." Hikaru scratches his head, looking worried over the prospect of leaving her alone.

"The fighters?" Kagome asks, interested tone.

"What?" The twins say together.

"Uh... yeah, the fighters," Hikaru mutters, and Kagome wonders if she did something wrong. "They'll take care of you."

"Can I make them food right now? Did they eat breakfast?"

"Um... you won't burn yourself, right?"

"I'll wear the mitts," she promises, glancing to check if they're still on the pretty silver hook.

"And you'll be careful around the knives?" Kaoru presses, and Kagome supresses a smirk.

"I'm good with blades, Kaoru," she reassures, and they wonder, again, how she knows the difference between the two identical twins.

And why, of course, she's good with blades.

But they don't ask; not anymore, they don't.

"What do they like to eat?" Kagome asks, grabbing the apron and tying it on, careful to not trip on it. "I can try and make it!"

"Honey likes sweets," they say instantaneously, "and Mori likes... anything, really."

"Sweets," Kagome says to herself, thinking of the sweet things she can make, and mentally checks off which would be the most efficient. "Okay, I've got it. Thank you!" Hesitantly, she reaches her arms out as if to hug the two boys, and when she hesitates, the Hitachiin's grab her wrists and hold her closely.

"Um," she says very, very quietly, "Can- Can I call you my brothers?" A thought strikes her that she should not be so easy to trust, but she's so honestly tired of being alone in this era. Apparently the thought crosses the other party's mind as well, because she sees them glance at each other, communicating with their eyes.

Finally, they come to a conclusion and nod. "Not yet," Hikaru says gently.

"You have to pass an initiation test first!" Kaoru butts in quickly, seeing her deflate.

"To see-"

"If you're-"

"A true Hitachiin!" With this declaration, the twins link arms, grinning at her as she claps.

"What's an initiation?"

"You have to do a test to prove yourself," Kaoru explains. They all huddle together, and the two boys start whispering about what prank they should do together.

The big doors open, startling all. Hunny and Mori sigh with relief, placing their bags by the door- it's not club hours, so it's safe to leave their things laying about.

"Hey, you guys," Kaoru greets, smiling like they weren't planning the downfall of man.

"How was class?" Hikaru continues, the exact same smile on his face.

"What do you wanna eat?" Kagome picks up quickly, making the identical grins on the twins widen. "Kaoru says I can cook for you guys!"

"Can you make sweets?" Hunny asks, smiling. "I like strawberries!"

"I can make cakes!" Kagome answers excitedly, before looking up at Mori. "What would you like, Mori?" She questions, craning her neck so she could meet his eyes.

"Steak, please," Mori replies, smiling with his eyes. "Can you cook meat?"

"Oh, yes, I've had lots of expiriences!" Kagome chirps, running off towards the kitchen. "Bye Hikaru, bye Kaoru! Good luck in your next class!"

"Thanks, Kagome," they sigh, grabbing their bags and slinking out into the hallway. When the door shuts, Hunny and Mori give each other looks, before shrugging and walking to the kitchen.

Kagome darts around the kitchen, much too fast for a normal child, holding heavy things in one hand. "Let's see, let's see," she mutters to herself, smiling lightly. She doesn't turn to see Hunny and Mori looking at each other, suspicious expressions on their faces.

Something wasn't quite right with this little girl, just adding onto the weird things Kyoya had told the group.

_"She doesn't like being questioned about her past."_

_"She seems used to injury."_

"It's almost like she's not human," Mori says quietly, and they see Kagome freeze for a slit second, before continuing pouring batter into a pan. They slip out of the doorway, walking all the way across the room to the far end of it.

"She heard you," Hunny says. They're both a bit weirded out by this, but far more curious than frightened or anything of the sort. "But how?"

"That girl.." Mori ponders for a moment or so, thinking out his thesis, "she froze when I said she seemed non-human."

"But she could have just been upset," argues Hunny, "That's not a really solid statement."

"We'll think more about it later," hisses the taller one, taking note of the little girl standing, unsure, on the other side of the room. "Hello, Kagome," he greets.

Her bottom lip juts out and she seems sad, before she turns around and enters the kitchen.

"Food is ready," she calls out flatly.


End file.
